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DATE: Tuesday, February 9, 1999

12:00 PM in the Moccasin Flower Room

SUBJECT: Assessment of Student Learning Committee Minutes

PRESENT: Jim Cotter (Chair), Mary Elizabeth Bezanson, Eric Klinger, Carol Marxen, Leslie Meek, Jenny Nellis, Engin Sungur (Coordinator of Assessment)

ABSENT: Aaron O'Leary

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Discussion about amount of assessment during 1997-98. Decided to step back for now and wait until Winter Quarter before proceeding.

1) Unit Assessment Plans and Implementation

Sub-committee – Jim Cotter and Engin Sungur.

Accreditation Review will be next year in spring 2000. During this time faculty and students will be asked about the UMM Assessment Plan. To help this process, the Unit Plans will be sent back to the units in March with a return date of May. The units will be asked to revise their plans (may just need some slight modifications) and provide information on implementation. There will be a cover letter and guidelines (also found on page 19 of the ASL Progress Report III). Cotter and Sungur will meet with the units and give input.

The ASL Committee's goal is to establish an assessment plan for UMM. Discussion about the statement that course-based assessment is not satisfactory. Are the goals of a course the same as goals of a major? A senior project with faculty evaluation is a good assessment tool. In UMM assessment we have first highlighted what we are doing. Now we need to assess what needs to be done.

2) General Education Assessment

Sub-committee – not set up yet

The assessment process should have gone through two graduation classes by the time of the Accreditation Review. There was a discussion whether there should be an external assessment of the general knowledge of students as well as the UMM Assessment Plan. If decide to pursue this, controls and constraints would have to be set up. This is not to be used to make comparisons with other institutions.

There needs to be assessment plans for General Education areas other than college writing, historical perspective and abstract systems. A joint sub-committee with the Curriculum Committee could be set up.

3) Assessment of the Assessment Process

Sub-committee – discussion whether one should be set up

Meeting adjourned at 1:00 PM.

The next meeting will be Tuesday, February 23 at Noon.